It Takes a Village

While it's tempting for single mothers to view their contribution as the only one that really matters, it's important to acknowledge the role of father to a child.

The Rights of Father

The old phrase goes "It takes a village to raise a child," and in that sentence lies the idea that it also takes a father. I have so often seen single mothers shut fathers out of their children's lives. It seems to happen more with teenage parents than those older parents who are divorcing. Perhaps it's because teenage boys are a little more immature and need time and because of the weight of how teenage pregnancy affects mothers. But it's undeniable that single mothers often tend to feel that the child is THEIRS.

I personally have a good friend who is shutting her now ex-husband out of her children's lives. It's not blatant or large but in small ways. He wanted to spend either Christmas or Christmas Eve with his children, but the week before she informed him that instead they would be flying away to visit their grandparents in another state. I simply don't see this as acceptable.

Nobody has denied the rights of a mother to her children, and yet we live in a country that certainly downplays the role of father. It’s expected that women will receive custody and men often have to fight to get the custody of their children or to split custody between them. We simply, in my humble opinion, don’t value the role of fathers enough. The roles of fathers goes both ways however. We also live in a country that tends to blame the mothers when something goes wrong with the child. We look at criminals and serial killers and shake our heads, “The mother should have known,”...”the mother should have done something”...and so on. Yet, we never seem to blame the father. We need to start acknowledging that fathers are just as important in a child’s life and can make just as good a parent as women can.

So in question about a father’s rights, I think we need to start acknowledging them.

We're sorry you feel that way, but as SexIs Magazine is an inclusive publication, we choose to include the men in our discussions and accept that they are as much of a part of procreation and parenting as the mother. It takes two to tango.

That being said, no one is trying to tell a woman what to do with her body, or how to parent her children. SexIs Subjective is a writing project in which we ask our readers the hard questions. This month, we asked "What about the rights of the father?" The articles we received in response are the opinions of our contributors. While we allow them to express them, SexIs does not necessarily endorse them.

lilylloyd that props too you. All i have to say to this is.... I am a single mom. My child does not have her father in her life. Her life is better because of it. If he was a strong male role model yes he would be in her life but instead he was druck and abusive.

So did he have rights? someone who has a negitavie effect on the child should not have rights. I'm not being a feminist or libel im stating a fact.

So if the male counter part to this relationship was in all terms a "FATHER" he would be in the childs life nothing would stop him and the courts sure as hell would see to that. But if this person is by all means just a baby daddy/ or just the sperm in the equation then them and the so called rights!

01/11/2013

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Every month, we'll ask a question, and we want your honest opinion in 500 words or more. These articles are purely the opinions of our contributors. While we support their right to express them, we do not necessarily agree with or stand by their opinions.